How a Zorelta bag is made
Selecting the hide
Each hide is inspected for scars, stretch marks and grain. The best sections become bag panels; the rest becomes small goods.
Cutting
Patterns are traced and cut by hand with a round knife. Edges are beveled so they can be finished cleanly.
Stitching
Holes are marked with a pricking iron and the seam is saddle-stitched with two needles and waxed linen thread.
Edge finishing
Edges are sanded, burnished with water and wax and polished until smooth. This is slow, and it is the part people notice years later.
What goes in, in plain words
Vegetable-tanned leather. We use full-grain leather tanned with plant extracts. It starts firm and pale and develops color and softness with use.
Saddle-stitched by hand. Two needles, one waxed thread, every stitch pulled tight by hand. If a thread ever breaks, the seam holds.
Solid hardware. Buckles, rivets and rings in solid brass. No plated zinc that flakes, no plastic that cracks.
